Otto Dix
On the previous Wednesday Thoughts on Art, we were left wondering how Art, entering the 20th century, had begun to accept a broader frontier within its themes, techniques and objects, setting loose the philosophy for a paradigm shift - from perfection and beauty - to aesthetics and concept. The modern canvas had made room to accommodate a subjective tone to it, and thus more abstract and wide were the expressions used to serve art’s definition. “Aesthetic”, classically the name given to the philosophy of the Artistic and beautiful, served now as an adjective to distinguish pieces. But even today, if we are to find “Aesthetic” in an English Thesaurus, this is what we’ll probably read: graceful, elegant, exquisite, beautiful, attractive, pleasing, lovely, stylish, artistic, tasteful, and in good taste. So, what we would look for if we were looking for an Aesthetic piece of Art? Otto Dix’s Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin, maybe? We’ll look for answers next week :)
- Artur Deus Dionisio